Rights Holder: Somerset County Council
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Unique ID: SOM-2CD948
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
A medieval enamelled copper alloy mount from the terminal of an arm of a processional cross made in Limoges, dating to c. AD 1150-1300. It is decorated with a winged figure, probably the winged lion of St Mark. The mount is very worn with details of design and and gilding lost. The mount is T-shaped and flat. The downstroke of the T is broader than the cross arms and would have run horizontally. The design is formed of unrecessed areas surrounded by recessed areas to hold enamel, any engraved detailing is lost. Around the outer edge of the front runs a recessed border containing extensive traces of white enamel with unrecessed lines to each side. There are four circular attachment holes, one near each inner corner and two three the outer cross arms roughly forming a square. The back is plain. The corners are slightly bent forward from damage.
The central figure is nimbed, with its body leaning into the central space from the lower corner where the cross bar meets the stem of the T. The head curves back into the stem of the T with the left wing running vertically above and the right curving above the halo. There are traces of red enamel in the halo and in the areas around the body and wings with the red shading into blue in the lowest left cell and possibly decorated with blue patches in the lower right cell and upper left cell. No clear trace of gilding survives although smooth patches of green corrosion on some raised areas suggest a coating of some form.
Height: 56.8mm, Width: 33.1mm, Thickness: 1.4mm, Weight: 14.80g.
This mount would have originally been one of a set of four, one for each terminal of a processual cross, all depicting a different winged emblem of an evangelist and with this mount originally affixed to the left arm. Such mounts are a known product of the Limoges style, named after the town in Aquitaine where the method was used from the mid-12th century (Cherry 2001) and were popular in England from around 1200 to c.1300. SWYOR-5948EB on this database appears similar. The figure was originally identified as the winged man or angel of St Matthew but comparisons to other mounts of the period suggest it may be a winged lion of St Mark. The lions are on these crosses do not have marked manes, looking perhaps more seal like to modern eyes. The wear on this piece makes it impossible to be definitive but the orientation makes this interpretation most likely (Shaffery, 1999:64-5 quoted in Lewis 2015). Alternatively, comparanda such as DOR-C06CB4, SUSS-54B2C4 and WILT-45FC93 may suggest that it is the eagle of St John.
SOM-2E372A was found nearby and is almost certainly associated. Both are probably from a deliberately destroyed cross. The findspot is relatively close to Bruton Abbey.
Class: Limoges style
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1175
Date to: Circa AD 1300
Quantity: 1
Length: 56.8 mm
Width: 33.1 mm
Thickness: 1.4 mm
Weight: 14.8 g
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Other reference: SCC receipt 17366
Primary material: Copper alloy
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: Inlaid with enamel
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cherry, J. | Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue | ||||||
Lewis, M. | 2015 | Les émaux religieux de Limoges découverts en Angleterre | Paris | Laboratoire LandArc |